KR100923927B1 - Method and system for content-aware mapping/error protection - Google Patents

Abstract

Methods and systems for content aware mapping / error correction are disclosed. Aspects of one method provide a MAC layer and / or PHY layer (PHY) for wirelessly communicating multimedia data, which may include video information, audio information, and / or data, in a wireless communication device based on the content of the multimedia information. / MAC layer) may be included. The controlling of the PHY / MAC layer may include selecting an omnidirectional error correction code and modulation that may be applied to portions of the multimedia information, and selecting one or more antennas for transmitting portions of the multimedia information. It may include a step. The selection criterion may be based on a priority given to portions of the multimedia information, and may be based on feedback information from a receiving device and / or a receiver located with a device transmitting the multimedia information. .

Multimedia, mapping, error, tampering, broadcasting, multimedia,

Description

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONTENT-AWARE MAPPING / ERROR PROTECTION}

Some embodiments of the present invention relate to processing data. More specifically, some embodiments of the present invention relate to methods and systems for content aware mapping / error protection.

Broadcasting and telecommunications have historically occupied independent fields. In the past, broadcast was primarily an "over-the-air" medium, while wired media carried telecommunications. Since broadcast and telecommunications can be transmitted via wired or wireless media, the distinction is no longer appropriate. Current technological advances can adapt broadcasts to mobility services. One limitation to the transmission of multimedia data such as, for example, digital television, video, digital photography, VoIP, and pure voice was a data transfer rate bottleneck. However, even with these significant advances in high-speed wireless communications technology, even this obstacle can be overcome.

Terrestrial television and radio broadcast networks have used high power transmitters to cover a wide service area, and they have user equipment such as televisions and radios. To enable one-way distribution of content. In contrast, wireless telecommunications networks use low power transmitters, which have covered relatively narrow areas known as "cells." Unlike broadcast networks, wireless networks adapt to provide two-way interactive services between a user's facility, such as telephones, and a computer facility. Can be.

The introduction of cellular communication systems in the late 1970s and early 1980s led to significant advances in mobile communications. Networks of this period are commonly known as the first generation, or "1G" system. These systems are based on analog and circuit-switched technologies. The most prominent of these systems has been the advanced mobile phone system (AMPS). The second generation, or "2G" systems, have improved the performance of 1G systems and introduced digital technology to mobile communications. Representative 2G systems include global system for mobile communications (GSM), digital AMPS (D-AMPS), and code division multiple access (CDMA). Many of these systems have been designed according to a typical telephony architecture paradigm that often focuses on circuit-switched services, voice traffic, and supported data transfer rates down to 14.4 kbps. Higher data rates were achieved through deployment of "2.5" networks, many of which were adapted to existing 2G network infrastructure. The 2.5G networks began with the introduction of packet switched networks in wireless networks. However, it is a revolution in the third generation, or "3G," technology, to introduce fully packet switched networks that support high-speed data communications.

Digital Terrestrial Television Broadcasting (DTTB) standards have evolved around the world as other systems adopted in other regions. The three leading DTTB systems are the Advanced Technical Standards Committee (ATSC) system, the Digital Video Broadcast Terrestrial (DVB-T) system, and the Integrated Service Digital Broadcastig Terrestrial (ISDB-T) system. ATSC systems have been adopted mainly in North America, South America, Taiwan, and Korea. This system adapts trellis coding and 8-level vestigial sideband (8-VSB) modulation. DVB-T systems have been adopted mainly in Europe, Central Asia and Australia, as well as parts of Africa and parts of Asia. The DVB-T system adapts Coded Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (COFDM). OFDM spread spectrum technology can be utilized to distribute information over many carriers that are spaced at specific frequencies. The OFDM technique is also referred to as multi-carrier or discrete multi-tone modulation. Spacing between carriers prevents demodulators from referencing frequencies other than their corresponding frequencies in the wireless receiver. This technique results in, for example, spectral dfficiency and low multipath distortion. The ISDB-T system has been adopted in Japan and adapts the Bandwidth Segmented Transmission Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (BST-OFDM). Various DTTB systems differ in important aspects, some using 6 MHz channel separation while others using 7 MHz or 8 MHz channel spacing.

Although 3G systems are evolving to provide integrated voice, multimedia, and data services for mobile user equipment, there may be compelling reasons to adapt DTTB systems for this purpose. have. One of the more notable reasons may be the high data rates that can be supported in DTTB systems. For example, DVB-T can support data rates of 15 Mbits / s on an 8 MHz channel in a wide area single frequency network (SFN). There are also important challenges in deploying broadcast services to mobile user equipment. Because of form factor limitations, for example, many handheld portable devices require services to consume minimal power to reduce battery area and extend battery life to a level that is satisfactory to users. You can ask. Another consideration is the Doppler effect when the user equipment is moving, which can cause intersymbol interference in the received signals. Among the three major DTTB systems, ISDB-T was originally designed to support broadcast services to mobile user facilities. On the other hand, since DVB-T may not be originally designed to support mobile broadcast services, many adaptations have been made to provide support for mobile broadcast capability. The adaptation of DVB-T to mobile broadcast is generally known as DVB handheld (DVB-H). The broadcast frequencies for Europe are in the 1670-1675 MHz band allocated for DVB-H operation in UHF (band IV / V) and in the US. Additional spectrum is expected to be allocated in the L-band worldwide.

In order to meet the requirements for mobile broadcasting, the DVB-H specification provides time slicing, allowing network operators the advantages of 2K mode and 8K mode to reduce power consumption in user equipment. The addition of 4K mode, which makes it possible to tradeoff between, the challenges presented by the mobile reception of DVB-H transmissions, and more robust to potential limitations in antenna design for handheld user equipment It can support an additional level of forward error correction on multi-protocol encapsulated data-forward error correction (MPE-FEC). DVB-H also provides DVB-T modulation schemes such as Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) and 16-quardature amplitude modulation (QAM), which are more resilient to transmission errors. Can be used. As MPEG audio and video services may be more resilient to errors than data, additional omnidirectional error correction may not be required to meet DTTB service goals.

However, the environment for a mobile user facility or mobile terminal may change as the mobile terminal moves. The signal from the transmitter to the mobile terminal may vary in strength as the mobile terminal moves with respect to the transmitter. Signals from mobile terminals may also take other paths, for example by reflections from buildings, trees, water surfaces, land and / or other surfaces. Transmitted signals can also be attenuated when passing through objects such as various glass surfaces in buildings. Changes in signal strength and strength need to be considered to optimize the data output.

Further, the limitations and disadvantages of conventional typical approaches will become apparent to those skilled in the art through a comparison of several aspects of the present invention which will be developed with reference to the drawings in conventional systems and in the remainder of the present application. will be.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method and system for content aware mapping / error protection.

Methods and systems for content aware mapping / error protection will be more fully developed in the claims as described in connection with at least one of the drawings.

According to one aspect of the invention, a method for handling data in a communication system is provided. The method includes controlling at least one of a MAC layer and a PHY layer to wirelessly communicate multimedia information based on content of the multimedia information at a wireless communication device.

Advantageously, the multimedia information comprises at least one of video information, audio information and data.

Advantageously, the method further comprises determining a priority for at least a portion of said multimedia information for use in said controlling step.

Advantageously, the method further comprises applying at least one of a plurality of forward error correction codes to at least a portion of said multimedia information based on said priority for at least a portion of said multimedia information.

Advantageously, the method further comprises applying one of a plurality of RF modulation schemes to said at least part of said multimedia information based on said priority of at least part of said multimedia information.

Advantageously, the method further comprises selecting at least one antenna for transmitting said at least a portion of said multimedia information based on said priority of at least a portion of said multimedia information.

Advantageously, the method further comprises processing feedback data from a communication device receiving said multimedia information sent by said wireless communication device for use in said controlling step.

Advantageously, the method further comprises applying at least one of a plurality of forward error correction codes of at least a portion of said multimedia information based on said processed feedback data.

Advantageously, the method further comprises applying one of a plurality of RF modulation schemes to said at least part of said multimedia information based on said processed feedback data.

Advantageously, the method further comprises selecting at least one antenna for transmitting said at least part of said multimedia information based on said processed feedback data.

According to one aspect of the invention, a computer program having at least one code section for handling data in a communication system is stored, wherein the at least one code section is executable by a machine. Machine-readable storage for causing a wireless communication device to execute steps comprising controlling at least one of a MAC layer and a PHY layer to wirelessly communicate multimedia information based on the content of the multimedia information. storage is provided.

Preferably the multimedia information includes at least one of video information, audio information, and data.

Advantageously, said machine readable storage includes code for allowing determination of priorities for at least a portion of said multimedia information for use in said control step.

Advantageously, said machine readable storage further comprises code for allowing application of at least one of a plurality of omnidirectional error correction codes to said at least part of said multimedia information based on said priority for at least part of said multimedia information.

Advantageously, said machine readable storage further comprises code for allowing application of one of a plurality of RF modulation schemes to said at least part of said multimedia information based on said at least part of said multimedia information.

Advantageously, said machine readable storage further comprises code for allowing selection of at least one antenna for transmitting said at least part of said multimedia information based on said priority of said at least part of said multimedia information.

Advantageously, the machine readable storage further comprises code to allow processing of feedback data from a communication device receiving the multimedia information sent by the wireless communication device for use in the controlling step.

Advantageously, said machine readable storage further comprises code for allowing application of at least one of said plurality of omnidirectional error correction codes of said at least part of said multimedia information based on said processed feedback data.

Advantageously, said machine readable storage further comprises code for allowing application of one of a plurality of RF modulation schemes to said at least part of said multimedia information based on said processed feedback data.

Advantageously, said machine readable storage further comprises code for allowing selection of at least one antenna for transmitting said at least a portion of said multimedia information based on said processed feedback data.

According to one aspect of the invention, a system is provided for handling data in a communication system. The system includes control circuitry that enables control of at least one of a MAC layer and a PHY layer to wirelessly communicate multimedia information based on the content of the multimedia information in a wireless communication device.

Preferably, the multimedia information includes at least one of video information, audio information, and data.

Advantageously, said control circuitry prioritizes at least a portion of said multimedia information for use in said control.

Advantageously, at least one of the plurality of forward error correction codes is applied by at least one of the MAC layer and the PHY layer to at least a portion of the multimedia information based on the priority for the at least part of the multimedia information. do.

Advantageously, at least one of the plurality of RF modulation schemes is applied by at least one of the MAC layer and the PHY layer to the at least part of the multimedia information based on the priority for the at least part of the multimedia information.

Advantageously, said control circuit enables selection of at least one antenna for transmitting said at least part of said multimedia information based on said priority for said at least part of said multimedia information.

Advantageously, the system further comprises processing circuitry that enables processing of feedback data from a communication device that receives said multimedia information sent by said wireless communication device for use in said control.

Advantageously, at least one of the plurality of forward error correction codes is applied by at least one of the MAC layer and the PHY layer to at least a portion of the multimedia information based on the processed feedback data.

Advantageously, at least one of the plurality of RF modulation schemes is applied by at least one of the MAC layer and the PHY layer to the at least a portion of the multimedia information based on the processed feedback data.

Advantageously, said control circuit enables selection of at least one antenna for transmitting said at least part of said multimedia information based on said processed feedback data.

Various advantages, aspects and novel features of the invention will be better understood from the following detailed description and drawings, as well as the details of the illustrated embodiments of the invention.

According to the present invention, it is possible to solve the limitations and drawbacks of conventional typical approaches by providing a method and system for content aware mapping / error protection.

Some embodiments of the present invention relate to methods and systems for content aware mapping / error protection. Aspects of the method may include controlling the MAC layer and / or PHY layer to wirelessly communicate the multimedia information based on the content of the multimedia information at the wireless communication device. The multimedia information includes video information, audio information, and / or data. Herein, the term and / or includes a combination of a plurality of related items or any item of a plurality of related items.

Priority may be determined for each part of the multimedia information, and the priority may be used in a control operation for each part of the multimedia information before transmitting the multimedia information. For example, the priority can be used to select forward error correction (FEC) that can be applied to some of the multimedia information. The priority may also be used to select an RF modulation scheme to apply to a portion of the multimedia information and / or at least one antenna for transmitting said portion of the multimedia information.

In addition, the feedback information can be used to control the operation of each portion of the multimedia information prior to being processed and transmitting the multimedia information. For example, the feedback information may be from a mobile terminal receiving the transmission of the multimedia information or from a receiver located with the transmitter transmitting the multimedia information. The feedback information can be used to select an FEC code that can be applied to part of the multimedia information. The feedback information can also be used to select an RF modulation scheme to apply to some of the multimedia information. The feedback information may also be used to select at least one antenna for transmitting the portion of the multimedia information.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system that may be utilized for content aware mapping and error protection in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 1, the terrestrial network 102, wireless service provider network 104, service providers 106a and 106b, portal 108, PSTN 110, mobile terminals 116a, 116b and 116c, WiFi An access point 120, a WiMax transmitter 122, and a Bluetooth device 124 are shown. The terrestrial network 102 may include a transmitter (Tx) 102a, a multiplexer (Mux) 102b, and an information content source 114. The content source 114 may also be referred to as a data carousel, which may include audio, data, and video content. The terrestrial network 102 may also include DVB antennas 112a and 112b that may be applied to transmit DVB-based information, such as DVB-T, or DVB-H, to mobile terminals 116a, 116b, and 116c. Can be. In this regard, the DVB antennas 112a and 112b can communicate with each other, for example via DVB-T, and with mobile terminals via DVB-H. The wireless service provider network 104 may include a mobile switching center (MSC) and a plurality of cellular base stations 104a and 104b.

For example, the WiFi access point 120 may allow a terminal, such as mobile terminals 116a, 116b, 116c, to access a network, such as the Internet, for example. In addition, the WiMax antenna 122 may also allow a terminal such as, for example, mobile terminals 116a, 116b, 116c to access a network such as the Internet, for example. The WiFi access point 120 and the WiMax antenna 122 may be serviced by, for example, a service provider 106b. The mobile terminals 116a, 116b, 116c may also allow communication using the Bluetooth protocol. For example, the mobile terminal 116b may communicate with a Bluetooth device 124, which may be, for example, a wireless headset for a cellular phone. The network shown in FIG. 1 need not be limited to any particular technology, and therefore other such as, for example, wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN), wireless local area networks (WLAN), and / or wireless personal area networks (WPAN). It may also support communication technologies. Accordingly, the mobile terminals have the capability to handle any one or more of a plurality of representative access technologies such as DVB-H, WCDMA, CDMA, CDMA2000, GSM, 802.11, 802.16, and Bluetooth. It may be.

The terrestrial network 102 may also include suitable equipment to enable encoding and / or encryption of data for transmission via the transmitter 102a. For example, the transmitter 102a of the terrestrial network 102 may utilize DVB channels to convey information to mobile terminals. In this regard, the transmitter 102a enables DVB-H transmission for mobile terminals over a UHF band, such as bands IV / V, 1670-1675 MHz band, and / or L-band. The transmitter 102a may have the function of determining the type of media being delivered to provide content aware mapping and error correction, and thus changing the type of modulation and / or coding used to process the media content. .

Multiple-input-multiple-output "MIMO communications utilizing multiple antennas at the transmitter 102a, mobile terminals 116a, 116b, and / or 116c provide optimal content aware mapping / error protection. For example, the transmitter 102a may also use beamforming to transmit information between the terminals and the transmitter to provide matrix information related to transmission performance. Beamforming may also utilize the feedback information provided by mobile terminals 116a, 116b, and / or 116c.

The multiplexer 102b associated with the terrestrial network 102 may be utilized to multiplex data from multiple sources. For example, the multiplexer 120b may be adapted to multiplex various types of information such as audio, video and / or data into a single pipe for transmission by the transmitter 102a. Content media from the portal 108 that can be handled by the service provider 106a may also be multiplexed by the multiplexer 102b. The portal 108 may be an ISP service provider. The mobile terminals 116a, 116b, and / or 116c may receive DVB-H services from the DVB antennas 112a, 112b whenever they are within the operating range of the DVB antenna.

In one aspect of the invention, the terrestrial network 102 may provide one or more digital television (DTV) channels to the service provider 106a. In this regard, the terrestrial network 102 may include suitable high speed or broadband interfaces that may be utilized to facilitate the transmission of DTV channels from the terrestrial network 102 to the service provider. The service provider 106a may then utilize at least some of the DTV channels to provide a TV on demand service or to provide other similar types of services for the wireless service provider network 104. . Thus, the service provider 106a may further include suitable high speed or broadband interfaces that may be utilized to facilitate the transmission of TV on request information related to the MSC 118a. The communication links between the terrestrial network 102 and the service provider 106a and the communication links between the service provider 106a and the wireless service provider 104 may be wired and / or wireless communication links.

The wireless service provider network 104 may be, for example, a cellular or personal communication service (PCS) provider capable of enabling broadcast UMTS (B-UMTS). The term cellular, as used herein, refers to the cellular and PCS frequency bands. However, the use of the term cellular may include frequencies of any band that may be utilized for cellular communication and / or frequencies of any band that may be utilized for PCS communication. Nevertheless, broadcast UMTS (B-UMTS) may be referred to as MBMS. MBMS is a high speed data service overlaid on WCDMA to provide higher data rates than can be provided by core WCDMA. In this regard, B-UMTS services may be mounted on a cellular or PCS network.

The wireless service provider network 104 may utilize cellular or PCS connection technologies such as, for example, GSM, CDMA, CDMA2000, WCDMA, AMPS, N-AMPS, and / or TDMA. Whereas a B-UMTS or NBMS network is utilized to provide one-way broadband services over a downlink channel, the cellular network can be utilized to provide bidirectional services over uplink and downlink communication channels. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, content aware coding, mapping and / or error protection may be utilized on the downlink. The B-UMTS or MBMS one-way downlink channel may be utilized to transmit content media and / or multimedia type information to mobile terminals 116a and 116b. Although the MBMS only provides one-way downlink communication, other two-way communication schemes may be utilized, including uplink and downlink functions, symmetrical or asymmetrical.

The wireless service provider network 104 need not be limited to GSM, CDMA, WCDMA based networks and / or variations thereof. In this regard, the wireless service provider network 104 may be, for example, 802.11, 802.16 or WLAN. The wireless service provider network 104 may be adapted to provide 802.11 or 802.16 based wireless communications in addition to GSM, CDMA, WCDMA, CDMA 2000 based networks and / or variations thereof. For example, the mobile terminals 116a, 116b, and 116c may access a network through a WiFi access point and / or a WiMax antenna 122. In this case, the mobile terminals 116am 116b and 116c may be compatible with an 802.11 based wireless network.

The service provider 106a may include suitable interfaces, circuitry, logic and / or code to enable communication between the terrestrial network 102 and the wireless communication network 104. The service provider 106a may facilitate its interfaces to exchange control information with the terrestrial network 102. The control information is exchanged with the terrestrial network 102 by the service provider 106a, and the wireless communication network 104 controls specific operations of mobile terminals, terrestrial network 102, and wireless communication network 104. It can be used to

The portal 108 may include appropriate logic, circuitry, and / or code that may provide content media to the service provider 106a via one or more communication links. Although not shown, these communication links may include wired and / or wireless communication links. In various representative embodiments of the present invention, these communication links may utilize any of the plurality of communication connection techniques described herein. Other connection techniques not described herein may be utilized without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. The content media that may be provided by the portal 108 may include audio, data, video or any combination thereof. In this regard, the portal 108 may provide one or more specialized information services to the service provider 106a.

The PSTN 110 may be combined with the MSC 118a. Accordingly, the MSC 118a may enable the exchange of generated calls from within the PSTN to one or more mobile terminals served by the wireless service provider 104. Likewise, MSC 118c enables switching of calls originating from mobile terminals served by wireless service provider 104 for one or more telephones served by PSTN 110.

The information content source 114 may comprise a data carousel. In this regard, the information content source 114 may include online data including audio, video and data content. The information content source 114 may also include file download and software download functions. For example, where the requested information is not obtained from the information content source 114 or if the requested information is unavailable, the mobile terminal may obtain the requested information from the portal 108 via B-UMTS, for example. have. The request may be initiated via an uplink cellular communication path.

The mobile terminals 116a, 116b, and 116c may employ appropriate logic, circuitry and / or code to enable processing of uplink and downlink cellular channels for various connection technologies and DVB-H technologies. It may include. The mobile terminals 116a, 116b, 116c may enable the processing of voice, video and data services, for example. In an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the mobile terminals 116a, 116b, 116c utilize one or more cellular connection technologies such as GSM, GPRS, EDGE, CDMA, CDMA2000, HSDPA and MBMS (B-UMTS). can do. The mobile terminals also make it possible to receive and process DVB-H signals in the DVB-H band. The mobile terminal can also make it possible to request information via the first cellular service and in response can receive corresponding information via the DVB-H service. The mobile terminal may also enable a request for information from a service provider via a cellular service, and in response may receive corresponding information via a data service provided through the cellular service. The mobile terminals may also be adapted to receive DVB-H information from the base stations 104a and 104b or DVB-H antennas 112a and 112b. In examples of receiving information from any of the base stations 104a and 104b via a downlink MBMS communication channel, the mobile terminal may communicate corresponding uplink information via an uplink cellular communication channel.

For example, transmission of data requiring wide bandwidth, such as video data, may need to be optimized according to the amount of data to be transmitted. Thus, data needs to be compressed before transmission to reduce the amount of data that needs to be transmitted. For example, the compression may occur at transmitter 102a. Errors in compressed data may be used to enable correction of detected errors, as they may result in the inability to decompress the data or conversely affect the decompressed data. Data protection methods may differ from the number of extra bits that can be used for error detection and correction. In general, the more bits used, the more data can be protected from uncorrected errors. However, the redundant bits can reduce the throughput of the data.

Thus, other portions of multimedia information such as video, audio, or data content may be given different priorities. The priority may be used to determine the data protection method used to protect the data. Thus, if MIMO transmission and / or beamforming with multiple antennas is used, feedback information, such as performance metrics from the mobile terminals 116a, 116b, 116c, may have content with specific priorities. It can be used to determine the antenna that can transmit.

For example, if antennas 112a and 112b are used for MIMO transmission, feedback information from the mobile terminals may be used for example with high priority data such as video content that may be transmitted from antenna 112a, for example. For example, it can be used to determine the low priority data that can be transmitted from the antenna (112b). Although feedback information from the receiving mobile terminal cannot be used, content aware mapping / error protection, antenna selection, and / or encoding methods may be utilized. In this regard, channel estimates may be utilized to determine appropriate content aware mapping / error protection, antenna selection, and / or encoding method.

2A shows a representative conventional structure for transmitting data. Referring to FIG. 2A, a source encoder block 200, a memory block 202, a physical layer / media access control layer (PHY / MAC) block 204, a parameter control block 206, and a transmit antenna 208 are shown. The source encoder block 200 may include suitable logic, circuitry, and / or code to be utilized to enable compression of the data to be transmitted. For example, the compressed data may be video data in MPEG-4 format.

The PHY / MAC block 204 may include suitable logic, circuitry, and / or code that may be utilized to enable conversion of input data into digital format to output a suitably modulated RF signal. For example, the PHY / MAC block 204 can apply a forward error correction (FEC) code to the digital data. The PHY / MAC block 204 may also convert the digital data into an analog signal and then RF modulate the analog signal. The PHY / MAC block 204 can communicate the modulated analog signal to the transmit antenna 208 for transmission.

The parameter control block 206 is suitable logic that can be used to enable control of various operations on the digital data in the PHY / MAC block 204 before the digital data is output for transmission. , Circuitry, and / or code. For example, the parameter control block 206 can configure the PHY / MAC block 201 to use a specific FEC code and / or RF modulation.

In operation, the source encoder 200 compresses video data, for example, into MPEG-4, and stores the compressed data in the memory block 202. The PHY / MAC 204 can read portions of the compressed data from the memory block 202. The PHY / MAC 204 then performs various operations to generate an appropriate RF signal that can be transmitted via the transmit antenna 208 to a mobile terminal such as, for example, the mobile terminals 116a, 116b, 116c. can do.

2B shows a representative structure for source layer optimization for transmitting data according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2B, a processor 210 and a transport block 215 are shown. The transport block 215 may include a source encoder block 220, a memory block 222, a source layer multiplexer block 224, a PHY / MAC block 226, a cross-layer divider block 228, and a parameter control block 230. ), And transmit antennas 232a, ..., 232b. The transport block 215 may be part of cellular base stations 104a and 104b, for example.

The source encoder block 220 may include suitable logic, circuitry, and / or code that may be utilized to enable compression of data prior to transmission. For example, the compressed data may be video data in MPEG-4 format. The source encoder block 220 may transmit information about the compressed data to the cross-layer divider block 228. The conveyed information may relate to the form of compression. For example, if the compressed data includes video data, the source encoder block 220 may be one of MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.261, H.263, or H.264. Specific compression forms can be communicated. The source encoder block 220 can also communicate the used chroma subsampling, for example 4-4, 4-2-2, or 4-2-0 chroma subsampling.

The source layer multiplexer block 224 is suitable logic that may be utilized to enable, for example, reading data from the memory block 222 and delivering various portions of the data to the PHY / MAC 226; Circuitry, and / or code. The data may be divided into several parts according to the information from the cross-layer divider block 228. The information from the cross-layer divider block 228 may include, for example, priority for various portions of the data. The priority may be based, for example, on the perceived importance of the information in the memory block 222. The number of priorities depends on the design and / or implementation. The cross-layer divider block 228 may also indicate that portions of the data having a particular priority may be communicated through specific outputs of the source layer multiplexer block 224.

PHY / MAC block 226 may include suitable logic, circuitry, and / or code that may be utilized to enable conversion of input data into digital format to output appropriately modulated analog data for transmission. . For example, the PHY / MAC block 226 may apply an FEC code to the digital data. The PHY / MAC block 226 may also apply specific RF modulation for the analog signal converted from the digital data. The PHY / MAC block 226 may additionally transmit analog signals to other transmit antennas 232a, ..., 232b in a multi-antenna structure. Accordingly, the transmission from the transmit antennas 232a, ..., 232b may be MIMO transmission and / or beamformed transmission.

In an embodiment of the present invention, PHY / MAC block 226 may receive one or more streams of the digital data. The PHY / MAC block 226 then works on the multiple streams, for example as directed by the parameter control block 230. Accordingly, PHY / MAC block 226 applies, for example, a specific FEC code to each digital stream. Each digital stream is then modulated by a specific RF modulation scheme and converted into an analog RF signal. Each modulated RF signal is then delivered to one or more antennas for transmission.

Cross-layer divider block 228 may include suitable logic, circuitry, and / or code that may be utilized to enable prioritizing portions of data in memory block 222. The priority may be based, for example, on the perceived importance of the information in memory block 222. For example, if the data in memory block 222 includes video data related to video frames, some of the data that includes information about the entire frame, such as, for example, an I-frame, may have a high priority. . For example, because P-frames may depend on I-frames for additional information, other frames, such as P-frames, may have a lower priority than I-frames. For example, P-frames that depend on other preferential P-frames may be assigned a lower priority than P-frames that only depend on I-frames. For example, B-frames that depend on before and after frames may be assigned the lowest priority. The number of priorities may depend on the design / implementation.

The cross-layer divider block 228 indicates that data having specific priorities in the source layer multiplexer block 224 can be delivered to the PHY / MAC block 226 through specialized outputs of the source layer multiplexer block 224. It may also be indicated. The cross-layer divider block 228 may then pass to the parameter control block 230 their operations that may be performed on the various streams of data conveyed by the source layer multiplexer 224.

Specific streams of data can be delivered to specific transmit antennas. The cross-layer divider block 228 has a minimum bit error in that data transmitted from each transmit antenna 232a, ..., 232b, e.g., through one transmit antenna, compared to data transmitted by another transmit antenna. With information about the propagation path to the receiving antenna from which data can be received. Thus, this information can be used to determine which data can be transmitted via which transmit antenna. For example, information related to a transmission path for each transmit antenna may be generated from feedback information from receiving devices. Alternatively, the information may be generated from feedback information from the receiver where the transport block 215 is located together.

The parameter control block 230 may include suitable logic, circuitry, and / or code that may be utilized to enable control of various tasks for the digital data of the PHY / MAC block 226. For example, parameter control block 230 may select an FEC code and / or RF modulation that may be used by PHY / MAC block 226 for certain portions of data. The parameter control block 230 can also determine which antennas can be used to transmit which portions of data by controlling the routing of data in the PHY / MAC block 226 to specific antennas.

However, there may be other embodiments of the present invention that route signals to specific antennas using other methods. For example, some embodiments of the invention select an antenna used to transmit data by selecting the source layer multiplexer 224 outputs used to pass data from the source layer multiplexer 224 to the PHY / MAC 226. Can be. Data delivered to PHY / MAC 226 through specific outputs output to PHY / MAC 226 may be transmitted via specific transmit antennas. For example, data output 1 may be transmitted by transmit antenna 232a and data output 2 may be transmitted by transmit antenna 232b.

In operation, source encoder block 220 may compress the data and store the compressed data in memory block 222. For convenience, the data is video data compressed using the MPEG-4 format, two priority levels of high priority and low priority are used, and output 1 data and output 2 data are transmitted antennas 232a and 232b. Is assumed to be transmitted by each of The source encoder block 220 may communicate to the cross layer divider block 228 that the compressed data is video data using the MPEG-4 format. The source encoder block 220 may also convey, for example, start and end memory addresses for the video data stored corresponding to the frame, the number of frames, and the type of the stored frame. The frame may be, for example, an I-frame, a P-frame, or a B-frame. Other information may also be conveyed, such as, for example, a chroma sub-sampling format.

The cross layer divider block 228 may then determine the priority given to each frame. The representative priority level algorithm may give high priority to all I-frames and low priority to all other frames. The priority for video data of the memory block 222 may be passed to the source layer multiplexer block 224. The source layer multiplexer block 224 may read data from the memory block 222 and output high priority data as output 1 and low priority data as output 2, for example.

The cross layer divider block 228 conveys to the parameter control block 230 operations that may be applied to each stream of data referred to as output 1 and output 2. For example, the parameter control block 230 may indicate that the high priority data output 1 can apply the FEC code A to it, where the FEC code A is the number of bits used compared to the FEC code B. May have more overhead at However, using FEC code A may allow a receiving unit such as mobile terminal 116 to correct a larger number of error bits compared to when using FEC code B, for example.

The cross layer divider block 228 is quadrature phase shift keying for, for example, 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) RF modulation for the high priority data output 1 to the parameter control block 230. (QPSK) can convey the use of RF modulation. The QPSK RF modulation may have a smaller data output compared to 16 QAM RF modulation. However, QPSK RF modulation is more reliable for a given transmission environment.

Other representative modulation forms may include binary phase shift keying (BPSK), 64 level QAM (64 QAM), and 256 level QAM (256 QAM). For the BPSK modulation type, the number of coded bits associated with a symbol may be represented by b _sym [f _k ] = 1 for each frequency carrier fk. For the QPSK modulation type, the number of coded bits associated with a symbol may be represented by b _sym [f _k ] = 2 for each frequency carrier fk. For the 16 QAM modulation type, the number of coded bits associated with a symbol may be represented by b _sym [f _k ] = 4 for each frequency carrier fk. For a 64 QAM modulation type, the number of coded bits associated with a symbol may be represented as b _sym [f _k ] = 6 for each frequency carrier fk. For a 256 QAM modulation type, the number of coded bits associated with a symbol may be represented by b _sym [f _k ] = 8 for each frequency carrier fk.

N _sd = 112 frequency carriers, f _-56 , f _-55 , ..., f _-1 , f ₁ , ..., f ₅₅ , and 40 MHz RF channel that can be utilized to transmit coded bits Whereas f ₅₆ can include a spatial stream of transmitted symbols, N _sd = 56 frequency carrier that can be utilized to transmit a plurality of frequency carriers, N _sd , for example coded bits. , F- ₂₈ , f _-27 ,..., F _-1 , f ₁ ,..., F ₂₇ , and f ₂₈ may include a 20 MHz RF channel. In the MIMO system, symbols sym [f _-28 ], sym [f _-27 ], ..., sym [f _-1 ], sym [f ₁ ], ..., sym [f ₂₇ ], sym [f ₂₈ ], or sym [f _-56 ], sym [f _-55 ], ..., sym [f _-1 ], sym [f ₁ ], ..., sym [f ₅₅ ], sym [f ₅₆ ] May be collectively referred to as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols. The number of coded bits associated with an OFDM symbol is N _CBPS = N _SD * b _sym [f _k ]. The number of data bits associated with an OFDM symbol is N _DBPS = R * N _SD * b _sym [f _k ] where R may be referred to as the coding rate.

Spatial streams may include, for example, transmissions from one or more transmit antennas. For example, the plurality of antennas may transmit a special stream of data using MIMO technology and / or beamforming technology. Alternatively, one antenna may transmit a special stream of data. For example, transmit antenna 232a may exhibit more reliable transmission characteristics than transmit antenna 232b. If the transmission environment is changed such that the transmit antenna 232b shows reliable transmission characteristics compared to the transmit antenna 232a, the cross layer divider block 228 may indicate that higher priority data is output to output 2. have.

Cross layer divider block 228 may also calculate feedback information from a receiving device, such as, for example, mobile terminal 116a, to maximize throughput for transmission of high priority and low priority data. This may, for example, allow the cross layer divider block 228 to select from a plurality of FEC codes and a plurality of RF modulation schemes for a plurality of priority levels. Similarly, MIMO and / or beamforming transmission may allow choosing a transmission method, in which a plurality of antennas may be selected for transmission of a particular stream of data.

Although feedback information from the receiving device can be used for the transmission, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, feedback data from a receiver located with the transmitting device may also be used. Thus, for example, the processor 210 may deliver feedback data and / or instructions to the transport block 215. For example, the processor 210 may process feedback data from the receiving device co-located and may pass information to the transport block 215. The information can be used to control the operations on the data streams, for example, by the PHY / MAC block 226.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been described using a plurality of functional blocks, the present invention need not be limited thereto. Accordingly, other embodiments of the present invention may use other blocks that can achieve various functionality.

3A shows representative feedback from a receiver to a transmitter in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 3A, a mobile terminal 310 and a transmitting terminal 312 are shown. The transmitting terminal 312 may transmit video data, for example, as described with respect to FIG. 2B, and the mobile terminal 310 may receive the transmitted video data. The mobile terminal 310 may process the received video data or generate a matrix that may indicate, for example, the bit error rate and / or signal to noise ratio for a particular propagation path. The propagation path may be, for example, a particular path taken by a signal transmitted from one or more antennas to the mobile terminal. Alternatively, the propagation path may be a combined path in which the same data may be transmitted through a plurality of MIMO transmit antennas.

The mobile terminal 310 may feed back the received signal matrices to the transmitting terminal 312. The transmitting terminal 312 then uses the matrices, for example, to determine what operations need to be performed by the PHY / MAC block 226. Although embodiments of the present invention have been described with respect to transmitting terminal 312, the present invention need not be limited thereto. For example, mobile terminal 310 may use an embodiment of the present invention to optimize throughput during transmission.

3B shows an exemplary multiple antenna structure for feeding back from a receiver to a transmitter in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 3B, there is shown a transmitting terminal 312 and a mobile terminal 312 capable of receiving data transmitted by the transmitting terminal 312. The transmitting terminal 312 may transmit a signal through the transmit antennas 312a and 312b, and the mobile terminal receives the signals through the antennas 310a and 310b. The transmitting terminal 312 may generate RF signals tx1 and tx2 that may be transmitted through the transmit antennas 312a and 312b, respectively. The transmitted RF signals can be represented by s1 and s2. The signals received by the receive antennas 310a and 310b may be represented by R1 and R2, respectively.

In operation, a receive antenna such as, for example, receive antenna 310a may receive signals from a plurality of transmit antennas, such as transmit antennas 312a and 312b, for example. In some examples, transmit antennas 312a and 312b may transmit the same data. In other examples, the transmit antennas 312a and 312b may transmit other data. The mobile terminal 310 can process the received signals R1, R2 to estimate what information has been transmitted by the transmitting terminal 312. Mobile terminal 310 may also generate various signal matrices such as, for example, SNR and bit error rate. The signal matrices may be fed back to the transmitting terminal 312.

For example, the transmit terminal 312 may transmit other data via the transmit antennas 312a and 312b. The mobile terminal 310 may process the received signal R1 for the data transmitted by the transmit antenna 312a and may process the received signal R2 for the data transmitted by the transmit antenna 312b. . Thus, if the bit error rate for the received signal R1 is less than the bit error rate for the received signal R2, this information may be fed back to the transmitting station 312. Transmitting base station 312 may then assign, for example, transmit antenna R1 for high priority and transmit antenna R2 for low priority. Similarly, the bit error rate and other matrices fed back to the transmitting terminal 312 can be used to select other FEC codes and / or RF modulation schemes, for example.

3C shows a representative arrangement with four constellation points to be utilized in connection with embodiments of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3C, an arrangement 320 and a symbol 320e having four arrangement points 320a, 320b, 320c, and 320d are shown. QPSK modulated RF signals may be received by mobile terminal 310 and may be processed to generate a baseband signal. The resulting signals can be mapped to one of four constellation points.

According to one aspect of the invention, each symbol of the demodulated signal may be directly mapped to one of four constellation points. However, due to noise in the propagation path and interference from other RF sources among other factors, the symbol may not be able to map directly to constellation points. For example, the symbol 320e needs to be mapped. Accordingly, the mobile terminal 310 may try to map the symbol 320e to the closest arrangement point closest to the symbol. Since the symbol 320e is the closest to the arrangement point 320a, the symbol 320e may be mapped to the arrangement point 320a.

For FIG. 3C, since there are only four possibilities for mapping, the error rate will be reduced if there are more than four constellation points. For example, as described with respect to FIG. 3D, 16QAM modulation may include 16 constellation points. Thus, data transmitted using QPSK modulation for a given propagation path may tolerate less error rates than, for example, data transmitted using 16 QAM modulation.

3D shows a representative arrangement with 16 constellation points utilized in connection with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 3D, an arrangement point and a ball 322e having sixteen arrangement points are shown. Four of these 16 constellation points are named 322a, 322b, 322c, 322d. The mobile terminal 310 may receive 16 QAM modulated RF signals. The RF signal can be demodulated and processed to produce a baseband signal. The result symbols may be mapped to one of 16 constellation points.

In one aspect of the invention, each symbol of the demodulated signal may be directly mapped to one of sixteen constellation points. However, due to noise in the propagation path and interference from other RF sources among other factors, the symbol may not be arranged directly at the constellation point. For example, symbol 322e needs to be mapped to a symbol. Thus, for example, the mobile terminal symbol 320e may be mapped to an arrangement point closest to the symbol. Since symbol 322e is closest to constellation point 322a, symbol 322e may be mapped to constellation point 322a.

With respect to FIG. 3D, there may be 16 possibilities for mapping, so if fewer than 16 constellation points, the probability of error may be greater. For example, the QPSK modulation shown with respect to FIG. 3C may include four constellation points. Thus, for a given propagation path, data transmitted using 16 QAM modulation may have more errors than data transmitted using, for example, QPSK modulation.

4 is a flow chart showing exemplary steps for content aware mapping / error protection in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 4, representative steps for using the MPEG-4 format for compression and transmitting the compressed video data are described. In step 400, the source encoder block 200 compresses the data in MPEG-4 format and stores the compressed data in the memory block 222. In step 402, the source encoder block 220 may pass information about the compressed data to the cross layer divider block 228. The information may include, for example, the type of compression used by the source encoder block 220, the start and end addresses of the data frame, and what type of frame the data is. The frames may be, for example, I-frames, P-frames, or B-frames.

In step 404, the cross layer divider block 228 prioritizes each frame of data, for example. Cross layer divider block 228 may use two different priorities, for example, high priority and low priority. For example, I-frames can be given high priority, B-frames and P-frames can be given low priority. The next steps may be step 406 and step 408.

In step 406, the cross layer divider block 228 may, for example, pass parameter information to the parameter control block 230. The information may include the form of the FEC code, the form of modulation, which may be used, for example, by the PHY / MAC block 226 for each data input from the source layer multiplexer block 224. The next step may be step 412.

In step 408, the cross layer divider block 228 may communicate various information about the data blocks of the memory block 222 to the source layer multiplexer block 224. For example, the cross layer divider block 228 can convey the priority for other data blocks and the start and end addresses for the various data blocks. While start and end addresses for various data blocks can be used, the invention is not so limited. For example, if the data is stored consecutively in memory block 222, start address and data block sizes and / or offsets may be used.

Cross layer divider block 228 may also indicate a path that may be used to convey data of a particular priority to PHY / MAC block 226. For example, high priority data can be passed to output 1 and low priority data can be passed to output 2. Alternatively, high priority data may be passed to output 2 and low priority data may be passed to output 1. Output 1 may be transmitted by transmit antenna 232a and output 2 may be transmitted by transmit antenna 232b.

At step 410, source layer multiplexer 224 reads data from memory block 222 and multiplexes the data as indicated by the information from cross-layer divider block 228. For example, high priority data may be output to output 1 and low priority data may be output to output 2. This is due to the cross layer divider block 228 declaring that the transmit antenna 232a has a propagation path having a lower interference noise than the propagation path of the transmit antenna 232b. This may be determined, for example, from feedback information from a receiving device such as mobile terminal 310 or from a portion of a receiver located with the transmitting device.

In step 412, the parameter control block 230 includes a PHY / MAC block 226 such that the desired FEC code and desired FR modulation scheme can be used for the signals of each output 1 and output 2 from the source layer multiplexer block 224. You can pass the appropriate commands to. The RF modulated signals can then be delivered via appropriate transmit antennas 232a and 232b.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a machine-readable storage, which stores a computer program having at least one code section executable by a machine, whereby the machine performs the steps described above for content-aware mapping / error protection. Can provide machine-readable storage.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, aspects of an exemplary system enable, for example, cross-layer divider block 228 and / or parameter control block 230 to enable control of the MAC layer and PHY layer based on the content of multimedia information. It may include a control circuit such as). The PHY / MAC block 226 may include a MAC layer and a PHY layer. The cross layer divider block 228 may deliver desired configuration information to the parameter control block 230 based on the content of the multimedia information. The parameter control block 230 may configure the PHY / MAC block 226 based on the configuration information from the cross layer divider block 228. Thus, the PHY / MAC block 226 may process the multimedia information before transmitting the multimedia information, which may include video information, audio information, and / or data.

The cross layer divider block 228 can determine the priority for at least some of the multimedia information. The cross layer divider block 228 can use the priority to select an FEC code that can be applied to a portion of the multimedia information by the PHY / MAC block 226. Cross layer divider block 228 may also use the priority to select an RF modulation scheme that may be applied to some of the multimedia information by PHY / MAC block 226. The cross layer divider block 228 can also use the priority to select at least one transmit antenna for transmitting a portion of the multimedia information.

Cross layer divider block 228 may also receive feedback information from a receiving device, such as, for example, mobile terminal 116a, and / or a receiver located with transport block 215. The feedback information may be processed by a processing circuit such as, for example, the processor 210 in one embodiment of the present invention. In another embodiment of the present invention, the processing circuit may include, for example, a cross layer divider block 228, a parameter control block 230, and / or a source layer multiplexer block 224. The cross layer divider block 228 can use the feedback information to enable selection of the FEC code that can be applied to the portion of the multimedia information by the PHY / MAC block 226. The cross layer divider block 228 can use the feedback information to enable the selection of an RF modulation scheme that can be applied to the portion of the multimedia information by the PHY / MAC block 226. The cross layer divider block 228 may further use the feedback information to enable the selection of at least one transmit antenna for transmitting a portion of the multimedia information.

Thus, the present invention can be implemented in hardware, or in software, or a combination of both hardware and software. The invention may be implemented in a centralized fashion with at least one computer system, or in a distributed fashion where other components are scattered across several interconnected computer systems. Any kind of computer system or other device adapted to carry out the methods described herein is suitable. A typical combination of hardware and software may be a general purpose computer system having a computer program for controlling the computer system to execute the methods described herein when loaded and executed on the computer system.

The invention includes all features that enable implementation of the methods described herein and may be embedded in a computer program product capable of executing these methods when loaded into a computer system. Here, a computer program means anything that represents a set of instructions in any language, or code, or notation. Representations of this set of instructions are either directly or a) conversion to another language, code, or symbol, b) reproduction to another media form, or after the system has performed either or both. It is intended to have the ability to process information to perform functions.

While the invention has been described with reference to some embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or medium to the techniques of the invention without departing from its scope. Accordingly, the invention should not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system that may be utilized for content aware mapping and error protection in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

2A shows a representative conventional structure for transmitting data.

2B shows a representative structure for source layer optimization for transmitting data according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3A shows representative feedback from a receiver to a transmitter in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

3B shows an exemplary multiple antenna structure for feeding back from a receiver to a transmitter in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

3C shows a representative arrangement with four constellation points to be utilized in connection with embodiments of the present invention.

3D shows a representative arrangement with 16 constellation points utilized in connection with an embodiment of the invention.

4 is a flow chart showing exemplary steps for content aware mapping / error protection in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

Claims (10)

Determining a priority for at least a portion of the multimedia information to be sent at the wireless communication device; And Determining at least one of a plurality of data processing schemes applicable to at least one of a MAC layer and a PHY layer to protect the multimedia information in wireless communication, the determining based on the determined priority; Processing feedback data from a communication device receiving the multimedia information sent by the wireless communication device for use in the determining based on the determined priority. The method according to claim 1, And the multimedia information comprises at least one of video information, audio information, and data. delete Determining a priority for at least a portion of the multimedia information to be sent at the wireless communication device; And Determining at least one of a plurality of data processing schemes applicable to at least one of a MAC layer and a PHY layer to protect the multimedia information in wireless communication, the determining based on the determined priority; Determining based on the determined priority, Applying at least one of a plurality of omnidirectional error correction codes to the at least a portion of the multimedia information based on the priority of the at least a portion of the multimedia information. Determining a priority for at least a portion of the multimedia information to be sent at the wireless communication device; And Determining at least one of a plurality of data processing schemes applicable to at least one of a MAC layer and a PHY layer to protect the multimedia information in wireless communication, the determining based on the determined priority; Determining based on the determined priority, And applying one of a plurality of RF modulation schemes to the at least a portion of the multimedia information based on the priority of the at least a portion of the multimedia information. A machine readable storage, storing a computer program having at least one code section for handling data in a communication system, the at least one code section being executable by a machine, causing the machine to: Determining a priority for at least a portion of the multimedia information to be sent by the line communication device; And determining at least one of a plurality of data processing schemes that can be applied to at least one of a MAC layer and a PHY layer to protect the multimedia information in wireless communication, based on the determined priority; Processing the feedback data from a communication device receiving the multimedia information sent by the wireless communication device for use in the determining based on the determined priority. Machine-readable storage. The machine readable storage of claim 6, wherein the multimedia information comprises at least one of video information, audio information, and data. Determine a priority for at least some of the multimedia information to be transmitted in the wireless communication device, and determine at least one of a plurality of data processing schemes that can be applied to at least one of a MAC layer and a PHY layer to protect the multimedia information in wireless communication. A control circuitry that enables determining, based on the determined priority; And the control circuitry processes feedback data from a communication device receiving the multimedia information sent by the wireless communication device for use in determining based on the determined priority. The data processing system of claim 8, wherein the multimedia information comprises at least one of video information, audio information, and data. delete

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